


all my little plans and schemes

by Skyson



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, Secret Mission, long distance phone calls, references to comic book characters, skoulsonfest2k15redux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 12:26:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4391798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyson/pseuds/Skyson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye and Coulson come up with a plan to hide their secret mission from everyone else, but Coulson ends up taking it pretty hard.</p><p>Inspired by the song "Real Love" by Tom Odell.</p><p>(Written for Skoulson RomFest 2k15 REDUX, Day 2, prompts: long distance phone calls, compromised.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	all my little plans and schemes

They staged the whole thing. It was the best cover, for the amount of time that she would be gone. No one would follow her, this way. She would have complete freedom from SHIELD.

They had planned everything out beforehand, but now he was wondering just how much she had actually been acting. Even knowing it was fake, it still felt real.

_"I'm not coming back."_

Her tone had sounded dreadfully firm, her facial expression serious and stoic. It had sounded real. It had looked real. That had been the point.

It felt real every morning he walked into an empty office. Every evening there was an empty space at the kitchen table. Every night he was alone with his bad dreams and insomnia and junk food.

_"Skye, please, just - "_

_"Don't come after me this time."_

She had looked right at him, then. That part had been truthful - Coulson had wanted to come with her for a bit, to see the operation for himself. Both of them knew better, though. That would be too dangerous.

She had left, with an apologetic smile toward the old team and tight hugs for those who reached out. Except for Coulson. He stood away from it all a little, the only one voicing his arguments and the only one hanging back. Skye had looked at him after she had hugged Simmons, and it was obvious that she was considering stepping toward him for a hug as well. But then he did something that had been planned, and yet he still regretted it.

He turned his back on her, and he left the garage.

He had pulled up the security footage later that night, because he wanted more reasons to hate himself and this plan they had concocted together, and watched her after the point he had left. She visibly deflated, her shoulders dropping and her face falling. Then she schooled her features, glanced toward each of her old teammates once more, and walked out of the building.

Everyone, in varying degrees of sadness, had looked after his retreating back, and then at Skye. May looked particularly pissed, he noted, though she had yet to confront him about it.

This had happened three weeks ago. Coulson hasn't seen or heard from her since that moment he turned away, and it was killing him.

He did well not to lose face in front of the team, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

 

 

**< ><><>**

May, of course, was the first one to confront him about it, although she waited a full month before doing so.

_"You're the one who pushed her away, Phil. You don't deserve to mope around about it."_

May's words were harsh, but true. Skye and Coulson both knew that the other team members would never believe her to go completely silent from SHIELD unless there was a serious row between the two of them. Before Skye left, they had staged arguments in his office, a couple in the halls, one heavy silent-treatment during dinner.

The scripts had covered various topics, but mostly centered around Skye needing to let her father go now that he had been through TAHITI, and over certain details about their battle with the Inhumans. Many times, Coulson was saying things about Skye's mother that were much too harsh to be really from him, but eavesdroppers believed it nonetheless. It wasn't long before word got around that Coulson and his favorite Agent were at odds, and most of them believed Skye was less attached to SHIELD than they were, anyway, so it wasn't long before the rumors started that she was considering leaving.

So when the biggest argument finally let loose, most people weren't surprised to find out Skye was packing up her belongings the next day.

Coulson had started to avoid people just before Skye left, and then once she did, he became even more reclusive and usually had one of the Koenig's task his orders out.

_"You have an organization to run. Are you going to screw it up because of one young woman? She's not the first protege you've lost, you know."_

Coulson had glared at May, his reply to that biting, but he couldn't help it,

_"Why don't you tell me how you really feel about it? You were her SO. Why couldn't you get her to stay?"_

May had looked hurt, and then she had looked pitying.

_"We both know you're the only one who could've really persuaded her to stay, Phil."_

_"Did you have something that actually matters you wanted to talk to me about?"_

May looked sad, but more toward him than because of the situation.

_"It wasn't so long ago that she mattered, Coulson. It wasn't so long ago that you risked your own standing, your own life, to make sure she was safe. What the hell happened?"_

She had shaken her head in disappointment, and left him alone in the office. He had sat at his desk for a long moment, and then picked up his coffee mug and thrown it at the wall.

 

 

**< ><><>**

Five days after that, Skye contacted Coulson directly to his cell phone, through a secure channel she had created.

 _Thank God,_ he wanted to say, _it's so good to hear your voice._ But he didn't.

"How are you?" He asked, glancing toward his office door to make sure it was closed.

"I'm okay," Skye said, and Coulson wasn't sure whether the false cheer in her voice was actually there, or something he just wanted to hear. _Do you miss me as much as I miss you?_

"Things are going well? You're safe?" His questions were not specific because he couldn't be sure if The Council was still monitoring his office.

"Very well," Skye assured him, "I've got two at the base already, I found them not long after I left the Playground. Eric and Tobias. Eric is super strong, but AC, you would love to meet Tobias I think. He can change."

"Change how?" Coulson wondered, thinking uneasily of Creel.

"I'm not sure how, exactly. He hasn't opened up to me about that. But he changes his form. Completely! I've seen him turn into a hawk right in front of me!" Skye was very excited, but Coulson was trying to wrap his head around it.

"Are you saying he can transform himself into an animal?" Coulson asked, leaning back in his chair. _This is new._

"He can transform himself into any animal, Coulson. Or so he says, anyway. Apparently it has to be an animal he's touched before."

"So he's alien," Coulson guessed, and Skye hesitated.

"Not exactly..." Skye dropped her voice, making Coulson wonder where she was, exactly. "Coulson, the docs here found something strange in his blood...they didn't recognize it because they haven't seen it before, but I have."

Coulson's breath froze. _Please don't say it's the GH serum._

"He's an Inhuman, Coulson, except not genetically like me." Skye took a breath. "I think he won't talk about how he got his powers because he was experimented on." Coulson closed his eyes, both in relief and in dismay.

"How old is he?" Coulson asked softly, knowing from Skye's tone of voice that he had to be younger than her.

"He's just a kid, AC. He's thirteen."

"Wow." Coulson breathed. They were silent for a moment, and then he asked, "What about the other one? Eric?"

"Eric's a year younger than me," Coulson could hear the grin in Skye's voice, "and he's incredible. Not quite as strong as Captain America, but the same idea. His strength makes him really fast, too. We've been calling him 'Agent America' as a joke, but I think he's rather fond of the nickname..."

"Can you handle impartiality?" Coulson mused, teasing her. _She sounds rather fond of him. What if she's too fond of him? What if he's fond of her?_ Coulson felt himself panicking a little, and shifted in his chair.

"You couldn't," Skye reminded him, and he couldn't help the small smile on his face. She changed the direction of conversation without actually answering him though. "I'm helping them learn to control their powers, and find their limits. There's a girl I've been hearing about in New Jersey that I'm going to check out tomorrow. She's young, too; in high school, has been calling herself Ms. Marvel." Skye sounded amused.

"As in..."

"Yeah. Her powers are different, though. She's a shapeshifter, that I know of. She's possibly capable of more, but she may not know it yet. Most of her shape shifting that I've seen is fairly rudimentary."

"Such as?" Coulson asked, getting to his feet to open up the Black Box. He might as well start working on these Caterpillar files now, and have Skye add to them when she returned.

"Like a Hulk-sized fist to punch people out."

"Wow." Coulson raised his eyebrows. "And she's in high school? Is there any indication on how she's handling this?"

"Well, other than inexperience, she seems to be honorable. She hasn't attacked any innocents, though she's occasionally caused quite a bit of damage to surrounding areas, more than likely clumsiness."

"This puts a new level on 'awkward teenager'," Coulson mused.

"Yeah. ... So," Skye sighed, as if she was leaning back against something. "How's it been on base? I'm sorry it's taken me so long to contact you." _Lonely._

"It's been almost two months," Coulson pointed out, his tone a little softer than he intended.

"Yeah." She sounded sad, now.

"May hasn't ripped me a new one, yet, which I'm frankly surprised about." Coulson spoke up, wanting to keep the conversation from getting too heavy. Skye chuckled.

"She's probably planning something worse. How is she? I... Miss her." Skye admitted after a second of hesitation. Coulson sat against the edge of his desk, sighing quietly.

"She misses you too. They all do."

"They?" Skye prodded softly, and Coulson swallowed.

"I do, too." _Too heavy._ "They don't really talk to me. It's basically mission conversation only, these days. May tries to talk to me, but..." _But I don't want to hear what she's saying. I don't want to acknowledge how right she is._

"You've got to keep up pretenses." Skye said knowingly. "I'm sorry, you've got it so much harder than I do." She meant that, but Coulson tried to joke it off. _Humor is my best defense mechanism._

"I can handle it. I'm the Director of SHIELD. A little long-term undercover work hasn't fazed me before." He spoke flippantly as he finished with the Black Box. Skye was silent for a moment.

"Simmons and I have been talking," _You've been in contact with Simmons this whole time?_ "She says you're avoiding people. She's disappointed with you for how you handled my situation, but she's more concerned because no one ever sees you anymore."

"I said I can handle it, I didn't say it was easy." His tone was a little too sharp. "If I spend too much time with them and they start asking too many questions, I'm honestly not sure I can keep up the idea that I'm angry with you." _Except I am angry. I'm angry we had to do this in this way. Pretending we can't stand one another._

"You can't be angry forever, Coulson. As long as they don't find out we're still in contact, it doesn't matter what they think you're feeling. Simmons knows I'm not angry anymore. She's actually been trying to get me to call you." Skye sounded a little amused again.

"Is that why you finally called?" Coulson asked, then clenched his jaw. He knew Skye was frowning at him, now.

"I wanted to have some good progress before I called you, thank you. Don't tell me you can handle this and then get mad when I'm doing exactly what we've planned." Skye countered, and Coulson sighed, once more collapsing back into his chair. He brushed his hand across his face.

"I'm sorry." He took a deep breath, and released it slowly. "This is difficult." He admitted.

"Yes, it is." Skye agreed softly. "I haven't seen a familiar face in ages."

"I wish I could visit." Coulson said without thinking, and heard Skye let out a breathy chuckle, no doubt surprised.

"I wish you could, too." She conceded.

They were silent after that, listening to one another's light breaths across the line, until Skye said she needed to go.

That night, Coulson joined the others for dinner, for the first time in a few weeks, and they all smiled and went about the preparations as if they'd been expecting him.

 

 

**< ><><>**

After a straight week of Coulson showing up for dinner with the team, Simmons approached him in the hallway as he was returning from a trip.

"Sir? May I have a moment?" She asked carefully. They had all been on edge with him lately; even Hunter was being as respectful as possible. None of them felt safe after he had gone off on his "favorite", and a part of him appreciated it because he didn't have to try so hard to avoid people.

But he missed the growing camaraderie he'd had with Fitz and Hunter. He was lonely.

"Of course, Simmons," Coulson spoke warmly, stepping to the side a little so they weren't stopped in the middle of the hall. Simmons seemed to relax significantly at his approachability, though the worried curve of her brow gave her away.

"I've been speaking with Skye," She admitted quietly, and when he didn't do anything in response, she plowed on, "And I'm sure she would never admit this, strong-willed as she is, but I think she misses you. Sir."

Coulson blinked at Simmons, silently asking her to get to the point. He kept his facial expression stoic, not allowing Simmons to see the way his chest suddenly felt very tight.

"I think you should call her, Sir."

"If Skye wanted to talk to me, she would." Coulson said with little emotion, and Simmons shifted away from him slightly.

"All due respect, you know she's not going to move until you show some sort of acquiescence." Simmons informed him, and he tilted his chin up a little so that he was looking down at her. "I don't think she's doing as well as she pretends," Simmons added softly, not shying from his hard gaze.

"She's made her choice," Coulson replied, stepping around Simmons and starting down the hall. "She'll learn to live with it."

He heard Simmons sigh, but he didn't turn back around. He couldn't take the look of heartbreak on her face any longer.

That night, Coulson called Skye after dinner.

"Fancy a nightcap?" Skye asked immediately upon answering, and Coulson hesitated, wondering if she wasn't alone. "I'm asking you," Skye added after he heard the clinking of glass. "Who the hell else would even know what a nightcap is?"

"I suspect that was a joke about my age, and I don't appreciate it," Coulson replied dryly, standing and moving toward the cabinet where he kept his best bourbon. Skye's laughter was soft and light, the sound of it finally relieving that tightness in his chest that had been present since his chat with Simmons.

She must have put him on speakerphone; he could hear the clink of ice and liquid pouring. He couldn't afford to do that as well, however, and cradled his cell against his shoulder as he prepared his own drink.

"You'll never guess what happened today," Coulson began, closing up the bottle and returning it to the cabinet before picking up his drink and walking back to his desk.

"Simmons confronted you?" Skye guessed, but he knew she wasn't really guessing.

"What, did she call you as soon as she finished talking to me?" Coulson wondered incredulously. "How come you and Simmons talk so much and you hardly check in with me at all?"

"Are you jealous, Director Coulson?" Skye teased, surprised, and Coulson frowned and leaned back in his chair as he swallowed some bourbon.

"We haven't been drinking enough for that sort of teasing, Agent," Coulson replied, his amusement slipping out through his tone.

"Simmons called me earlier today, yes." Skye confirmed, pushing her laughter aside. "And I don't talk to you as often because I think it would be a bit suspicious if you were suddenly taking a lot of personal calls throughout the day. We're supposed to be avoiding each other right now, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Coulson muttered, taking a large mouthful of his drink.

"You told Simmons I would learn to live with it?" Skye wondered. They were silent for a beat, and she continued, "I think I'm not the one having problems living with it."

"I'm fine," Coulson assured her, and he swore he could hear her raised eyebrow in her next comment,

"You've already finished with your glass, haven't you?"

He looked down at the empty glass on the table, scowled at it, and pulled his hand away from it.

"I didn't fill it up much." He said, and Skye didn't say anything at that. "I might a little jealous, yes." Coulson eventually admitted, with a sigh.

"Really?" Skye sounded legitimately surprised. "Even with an entire organization to run, you still find time to miss me?" Her tone was a little too soft to be teasing.

"I'll never be too busy to miss you." Coulson revealed, very quietly, and Skye was silent on the other end of the phone for a moment.

"Me, too." She said, and he found himself smiling with relief. "I keep finding myself looking for you to talk about something I've discovered, and then I remember the office is mine and I'm not in the Playground."

"Yesterday I asked one of the techs to forward some information to you," Coulson said shamefully, "I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm pitiful." Coulson laughed at himself.

"At least the plan is working," Skye pointed out. "No one is the least bit suspicious of my absence. I've been able to work on the Caterpillars with no interference from SHIELD at all."

"That is a relief," Coulson agreed, frowning a little in concern as he asked, "Have you been experiencing interference from anyone else?"

"No, it's just..." Skye trailed off, then said apologetically, "These guys working on the base, I don't know them."

"They're good people, Skye." Coulson assured her. "These are the same agents who helped me with the helicarrier. You can trust them."

"If you're sure..." Skye sounded uneasy, and Coulson leaned forward in his chair.

"Has something happened? I checked their backgrounds extensively before hiring them for the helicarrier, though that job didn't have anything to do with people with powers..."

"No, no, they've all been very respectful and helpful. They even seem like they're scared of you, which is incredibly amusing. I'm just worried about them keeping this whole thing a secret... You know." Skye explained, and Coulson nodded before he realized that she couldn't see him.

"A healthy respect is necessary when being the Director over a bunch of people who don't see me every day." Coulson said wryly, and he imagined she was probably grinning at him. "I can send Sam over, if you'd like. He's finished with the other project I had him on."

"Another secret project?" Skye gasped, pretended to be appalled. "Mr Director, I think we have some things we need to discuss!" Coulson laughed, and leaned back in his chair again.

"I'll talk to Sam tomorrow." Coulson told her.

"Thanks, AC," Skye said, sounding relieved, and his chest filled with warmth.

"I like it when you call me AC," Coulson told her, and she snorted out a laugh in surprise.

"How many glasses have you had?" She joked, and he rolled his eyes, shifting slightly nervously in his seat.

"Just one," he said haughtily.

"Only one? I'm on my third!"

"Skye,"

"Just kidding, Boss. I am on the job, after all. Sticking to one, tonight."

"When you get back, I'll share some of my good bourbon with you, and maybe we can have more than one," Coulson suggested, then winced. That sounded way more inappropriate than he had meant.

"It's a date." Skye agreed without hesitation. Coulson smiled.

 

 

**< ><><>**

After a total of five months gone, Skye told him she was ready to come home. Not in those exact words, of course, but it was implied.

She assured him that the eldest of the Caterpillars, Eric, would be able to handle things while she observed from the Playground. 'Ms. Marvel', who's real name was Kamala, made sure he stayed in line and kept things fair and safe. They were there to train together and get to know one another; neither Skye nor Coulson wanted them anywhere near actual operations anytime soon, especially since some of them were so young. Those that had family were free to come and go as they pleased, explaining their time away as a summer camp, or some after-school activity of their choosing.

Coulson and Skye had been able to keep their conversations from the rest of the team, though a part of that was because they didn't talk very often. They missed one another, and it was obvious in each other's voice, and too much of a temptation to end the mission early. Coulson knew that Skye talked with Simmons all the time, though, and it was extremely difficult not to ask Simmons about her from time to time.

 _"It's time, Coulson."_ Skye had sounded very tired when she said that, and he knew it wasn't only to do with the late hour.

 _"When should we expect you?"_ He had tried not to sound too excited.

 _"Tomorrow. But if I were you, I wouldn't wait around in the garage for me. Everyone thinks we're estranged, remember?"_ She was teasing him - he could hear her excitement as well.

 _"I'll probably be too busy working in my office to realize you're back,"_ He had countered, making her laugh.

 _"And I'll be too nervous about our tense relationship to ask the others about where you are,"_ She had replied, making him smile.

That wasn't what happened, though.

Skye arrived later than he expected; they were all in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner, and Simmons dropped her plate in surprise, the crash getting everyone's attention.

There she was, standing just outside the lounge, her duffel bag in hand, careful smile on her lips. Coulson could only stare, frozen in place as Simmons, Hunter, and Fitz crowded around her, each fighting for hugs. Bobbi and Mack even stepped closer, bright happy expressions on their faces, and Skye reached for their hands, pulling them into the group.

Coulson wasn't entirely acting as he just stood there, his hands at his sides, lips parted slightly in surprise. Surprise because he knew, now, after seeing her for the first time in almost half a year, he knew. _I love her._

"Where's May?" Skye was asking, a few happy tears on her face at the sight of her friends - her family.

"She's just stepped out to get some beer; tonight's game night!" Hunter exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Please tell me you're here to stay. This place is a bore without you!"

"I think... I think there's some people I need to talk to about that, first." Skye said, and most of them sobered rather quickly and stepped a bit away from her, opening up her view to see Coulson standing there by the counter. "I'd like to be here to stay." She added quietly, looking at Coulson. He swallowed, feeling emotion prickling behind his eyes, the relief at seeing her making him feel like his knees might collapse. The others had quieted, watching as Skye and Coulson looked at one another.

"Skye," Coulson breathed, everything coming out at once in that one word, and she immediately ran around the table toward him, throwing her arms around his neck. His brow furrowed and he tucked his face into her neck as he wrapped his arms around her back, holding her tightly, feeling himself shaking. Her tears were hot against his skin, and he pulled back to press his hands against either side of her face, wiping them away with his thumbs. Skye smiled widely at him, and he could see it in her face, it was suddenly so clear. _She loves me._

He wasn't sure who moved first, it was just one breath they were looking into one another's eyes and the next breath they were kissing, hard and frantic. He tilted her head to deepen the kiss, slowing down, making it count. Her hands were gentle against his neck as she kissed him softly in return, and he could feel her smile.

"Well. I guess this answers the question of who's motorcycle is in the garage." May's voice in the doorway pried them apart, albeit slowly. They smiled at one another for another moment before Skye turned toward May, and Coulson looked over at his friend. His hands have slipped down to Skye's arms, and he carefully pulled his hands to himself, smoothing one down his tie.

"May!" Skye can't help it, she's so relieved to see her mentor again, she rushes back to that side of the room, and May set down the case of beer to hug her tightly.

"Get it, Director Coulson," Hunter cheers a little late, a very approving look on his face, and Skye pulled away from May, a little embarrassed, and a little unsure about her mentor's reaction to walking in on that. May smiled at her, and brushed her hair behind her ear in a loving gesture.

"I was hoping that would happen soon. He's been far too mopey since you've been gone." May revealed, making Coulson frown a little.

"I don't mope." Coulson retorted, and everyone turned to give him speculative looks. He rotated his jaw and shifted his weight. "I don't mope much..." They all grinned at each other, and he felt the need to reassert himself as their boss. "So are we going to start game night, or what? We've got operations to plan, in the morning."

"I know you just kissed her and all, but, does this mean you guys aren't gonna rip each other's throats out anymore?" Hunter checked, and Coulson looked at Skye inquisitively, as if that were up to her.

"Oh, we still have some things we need to work out," Skye replied, and Coulson knew the details she was talking about were not what the others thought she was talking about.

"Please." Coulson said softly. He wasn't begging, but he was asking, being honest and open about what he wanted.

"I'm here to stay." Skye confirmed. They would work out details for her to visit the other base later, all that mattered right now was that she wasn't going to leave for this long of a time again.

"Alright, let's break these out before they get warm," May announced, lifting the box of beer onto the table. "There's another out in the SUV. Mack, if you don't mind?" Mack nodded and disappeared to get it, while Fitz and Hunter argued over which board game they would play first.

May walked up to Coulson as Simmons and Skye spoke animatedly about something, and handed him a beer.

"Is that going to be a problem?" May asked, popping the tab on her can.

"No," Coulson assured her. "A part of the reason why she left in the first place was because... I wasn't being honest." May nodded knowingly. "I can still be her Director, May." Coulson thought to say as he opened his own can, and May rolled her eyes at him.

"Skye's been different for you since day one," May recalled. "But, because of that... I know you can handle it. You both can handle it." She looked at Skye for a moment, proudly, and then at him. She lifted her can in salute, and he tapped his against hers, both of them taking a drink.

"Thank you, May." Coulson said, meaning it for many things. She simply raised her eyebrows at him and walked away, brushing her hand across Skye's shoulder as they crossed paths.

"Is she okay with this?" Skye asked him quietly, worriedly drinking her beer. He slipped his hand into hers, giving her fingers a squeeze.

"Even if she wasn't, I wouldn't care." Coulson told her, and she met his gaze.

They were kissing again when Hunter called out from the couch,

"Okay, time enough for that later! Come on, and I've got Skye on my team!"

 

* * *

 

Fic title taken from song _"Real Love"_ by Tom Odell.

 _all my little plans and schemes_  
_lost like some forgotten dream_  
_seems like all I really was doing_  
_was waiting for you_

 _just like little girls and boys_  
_playing with their little toys_  
_seems like all we really were doing_  
_was waiting for love_

 _don't need to be alone_  
_don't need to be alone_

 _it's real love_  
_it's real_  
_it's real love_  
_it's real_

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, there are a few shoutouts in here; the newest Ms. Marvel comic series, US Agent, the Animorphs...


End file.
